HAYES: Darius, Nigel, Josh, Carlos and Demonte were always together

Darius, Nigel, Josh, Carlos and Demonte were always together

Pete Hayes - Sports editor

Pete Hayes
Sports Editor

ALTON — As friends go, five young men from Alton may have appeared no different from any other group of high school pals. But Darius, Nigel, Josh, Carlos and Demonte had a special bond. Even though still in their teens, they had already shared so much.

And now, there are only four. Demonte Wigfall is gone.

Wigfall, 18, was killed in a three-vehicle accident Tuesday evening on Interstate 90 in northern Illinois. The crash on the busy stretch of highway also claimed the life of a friend, 18-year-old Desiree Wease. Demonte died at the scene and Desiree passed later in a hospital. There were others injured as well.

According to an Illinois State Police spokesman, the accident happened about 5:50 p.m. Tuesday in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 90 and involved a car and two semi trucks. The report stated that one of the vehicles lost control, struck a median wall and triggered a pileup. Police said Wigfall and Wease were in the vehicle that struck the wall.

Wigfall had been a student this past fall at Rockford University and played on the football team, but transferred to Lewis and Clark Community College at the semester break.

He graduated from Alton High last year, along with his friends Darius Edwards, Nigel Harris, Josh Lovings and Carlos Anderson. He had plenty of other friends, mind you, but according to Alton High basketball coach Eric Smith, those five “did so many things together.”

And so much of that was centered around athletics. They were teammates on the Alton High basketball team that won a regional championship last season and went 27-5. It was a special team, and they were its nucleus. Each player understood his role and there was not much “high-school drama” surrounding that group.

“Demonte and his friends were together all the time,” Smith said. “Darius, Nigel, Josh, Carlos and Demonte – they went through a lot together. Great kids.

“There are lots of groups of friends who know each other through their school years,” Smith said. “But they seemed different. They were closer.”

Demonte loved basketball, but also played football at Alton High. And he was good. Very good. While the basketball team received more attention with its sparking season, Wigfall loved football as much – if not more. He was a wide receiver whose intestinal fortitude had better not have been questioned.

“Demonte was hard-nosed,” Alton High athletic director and former football coach Jeff Alderman said. “Coaches develop relationships with players that aren’t all that different from those with their own sons. Demonte was one of those.”

Alderman recalled a play during Wigfall’s senior season that he said summed up Demonte as an athlete.

“At Cahokia, he went up high and made a huge fourth-down catch,” Alderman said. “I mean, he was was up there. The defender cut his legs out from under him. He tumbled to the ground, but he hung onto the ball.

“There are a lot of players who would have to come out after a play like that, but not Demonte. He stayed in and eventually caught a touchdown pass at the end of that drive.”

The Redbirds won that game 21-12. They finished 5-4 that season, but fell short of a playoff berth. At the end of that football season, it was on to basketball.

A 6-foot-1, 175-pound guard, Demonte averaged 3.2 points per game for the basketball team and clearly understood his role. That type of attitude was critical to the success that group of Redbirds.

“They were not a selfish bunch,” Smith said. “I think that group of players genuinely respected each other and they understood was was needed to have success.”

On the football field last fall at Rockford University, Demonte caught nine passes for 102 yards and a touchdown. He saw action in six of the team’s 10 games.

“No doubt in my mind he could play at that level,” Alderman said.

When news of Demonte’s death started making its way through Alton High Wednesday, anyone who knew him was hit hard.

“It’s not the kind of phone call you want to get anytime,” said Alderman, who received the news from assistant principal and former AD and basketball coach Mike Brey.

“Demonte always had a big smile on his face,” Alderman said. “I’m not sure I can remember a time he wasn’t happy.”

Smith added, “He was a happy-go-lucky kid. So many people liked him and everyone remembers his big smile.”

The tragedy hit home in several ways, Alderman said.

“Even as a parent it hits you,” Alderman said. “I have a son who went to high school with Demonte and who goes away to college now. And our daughter just went back to school at Indiana. I think something like this brings up a constant fear that’s always in the minds of parents.”

Besides that ever-present smile, Wigfall’s hard work will always come to mind when Alderman thinks of him.

“You never needed question Demonte’s work ethic,” Alderman said. “It was second to none.”

On the Rockford University football team website, each player’s profile includes his favorite quote. Demonte’s favorite is from NBA player Kevin Durant: